Appeal court overturns decision to scrap St Paul's restoration contract

The Court of Appeal has annulled a decision by the Valletta local council to cancel a tender for the restoration of the historic parish church of St Paul’s Shipwreck.

In its ruling, the court criticised the council for failing to provide any justification for its decision or to properly explain it to the winning bidder, Agius Stone Works Ltd (ASWL).

The tender process, which involved the restoration of the church  façade and the bell towers was issued in May 2024, after being announced by then-mayor Alfred Zammit the previous year. 

Nine bids were submitted, with the lowest valued at €132,673.50, coming from ASWL.

The tender closed just days before the June 2024 council elections, which saw Olaf McKay replace Zammit as mayor, although the Labour party retained control of the council.  

Three months later, the company received a letter through the e-Tendering platform, informing it that the tender had been cancelled. 

The decision was criticised by the Nationalist Party, its three Valletta councillors as well as by the parish’s archpriest, Canon David Cilia.

ASWL appealed the decision before the Public Contracts Review Board (PCRB), according that the cancellation breached public procurement rules. The company said it was never informed of the findings that led to the decision.

The local council replied that ASWL was informed that the tender had been cancelled and this was done after it emerged that one of the members of the evaluation board had a conflict of interest.

This was allegedly revealed during a local council meeting on August 6, 2024, when archpriest Cilia, evaluator Andrew Ellul, and ASWL director Rosario Agius attended uninvited.

The PCRB upheld the decision. 

However, the Court of Appeal disagreed. 

In a decision delivered by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti, Mr Justice Christian Falzon Scerri and Madam Justice Josette Demicoli, the court found the council had failed to communicate is reasoning to ASWL.

It also ruled that the PCRB had not adequately considered the company's objections, including its claim that the decision was disproportionate and unsupported by facts.

The court observed that it was not enough for mayor McKay to take the matter to social media and comment on the cancellation there, since comments on his personal profile do not represent an official local council position but his personal opinion.

This did not fulfil the council's legal obligation to notify the bidder in writing.

It also found no concrete evidence of conflict of interest or improper conduct during the August meeting. 

Testimonies from PN councillors Roberta Bonello and Vincent Fabri revealed uncertainty over what the alleged conflict of interest entailed, and the court noted that the presence of Cilia, Ellul, and Agius at the meeting did not justify cancelling the tender.

"The court found it strange how a public meeting where Cilia, Ellul and Agius happened to be present amounted to a conflict of interest," the ruling said. 

The court pointed out that the council failed to explain who gained from the situation and who had suffered a loss since on the day, the local council had to vote on the report prepared by the evaluation committee.

“It also did not emerge how the archpriest’s contribution obstructed the competitive call, and this is irrespective of whether his comments came before or after the vote,” the court said.

It was also observed that the mayor and local councillors did not investigate the alleged conflict of interest.

“It seems that the Valletta local council opted to cancel the tender on the basis that these three individuals were present for the meeting,” the Court of Appeal said, adding this was not according to what is required at law.

“An extreme decision to cancel a tender should be based on objective facts not perceived thoughts,” the court said.

Annulling he decision by which the tender was cancelled and the decision by the PCRB, it ordered that the deposit ASWL had to pay to file an appeal to the PCRB be refunded.

The Valletta local council was ordered to pay all legal expenses.

PN local councillors welcome judgement

In a statement, the PN's local councillors in Valletta welcomed the judgement of the Court of Appeal. 

The councillors say the decision delivers justice to the people of St Paul's parish and reaffirmed their long-standing support for the restoration project which will preserve the capital's cultural and architectural heritage.